Dumbest Airport Locations

Colin · 12-28-2002, 09:45 PM

Might as well keep this theme going.

Halifax International, NS, Canada.

Airport is about 30 km outside of the city (which is only about 330,000 people and therefore is not short on space). I once met an engineer with Transport Canada who told me that the location was chosen because of all the possible sites in the area, the one chosen had the fewest hours of fog (Halifax is on the Atlantic ocean and is the second largest natural harbour in the world).

Here's the funny part. The site was covered with a pine forest. So in went the bulldozers and chainsaws and the area was cleared. The runways and terminal went in, and then came the fog. After the first year of operation Transport Canada noted that the number of foggy hours went way up.

The government ordered a study and it turned out that the forest was keeping the fog away by altering wind patterns. When the trees went the fog had no impediment and settled in.

Therefore Halifax has an airport in the middle of nowhere for no good reason. Meanwhile, CFB Shearwater was scaled way back and it's long runways, 10 km from downtown Halifax, go unused. The only aircraft assigned there are Sea King helicopters.

I'll let someone else tell the story of Montreal Mirabel, Pierre Trudeau's "White Elephant."

ksekha · 12-28-2002, 10:12 PM

All the locations listed below are bad due to their distance from the city centre. These are:

1. London Luton.
2. London Stanstead.
3. London Gatwick.
4. Bangkok (Don Muang).
5. Houston George Bush Intercontinental.
6. Taipei (CKS airport).

Another problematic location for an airport is Toronto City Airport.
The airport is very close to the city centre, but getting there requires a passenger ferry, for which one has to pay toll each time!

Luton is some 50 miles away from London. In fact, Luton isn't even in London or close to it, yet the airport is called London Luton!

Stanstead and Gatwick are both about 30 miles away.

Dubai is the best location. Just 3 miles from the city centre, as was Hong Kong's Kai Tak.

b737gearboy · 12-28-2002, 10:13 PM

MCI in Kansas City used to be pretty bad. It was out in the boonies but things have grown up around the airport in the last few years.

Bill G · 12-28-2002, 10:32 PM

I'm not really sure if the locations are bad, but the approach into both SAN & DCA are pretty interesting.

Bill G

12-28-2002, 10:48 PM

Narita NRT is about 70km or more from Downtown Tokyo. It's a bad one.

There are some good on-site hotels though if you need to overnight!!!!

FLYDELTA · 12-28-2002, 11:05 PM

How about the new Denver airport?

richie154 · 12-29-2002, 12:00 AM

SFO is kinda in a bad location...some rwy's extend into the bay and theyre way too close together for paralell landings. also, any bad weather dramitically affects the on-time performance of the place.

Sgt Caribou · 12-29-2002, 12:04 AM

YEG, located about 30 min. drive south of city limits. This is Edmonton's international airport, although a disproportionately large part of international and cross-Canada traffic goes through YYC instead. Reasons for this have to do with the fact that Calgary handles much more air traffic due to its location, local economy and route structure. What makes it really dumb is the fact that there is another airport right here downtown, namely YXD, which is large enough to handle A320/737 class aircraft (and did several years ago), but city council shut down flights of this type and imposed restrictions which have turned it into a commuter/private airport (10 pax or less). With the commute to YEG added to the time required to check-in, clear security, etc., taking a flight from YEG to YYC is not feasible due to the fact that the journey takes 3 hours from start to finish, which incidentally is the same time required to drive between the two cities! In the event that regularly scheduled flights via say Westjet, Tango & Zip were run out of YXD to YYC, the longer-ranged routes could be accessed that much more quickly. Furthermore there has been talk (again) recently about closing YXD, because it supposedly takes business away from YEG. Rather than viewing the city centre airport as a direct threat to the international, it seems the that the consistently-low traffic patterns at YEG have less to do with the small fry "taking away" from the big international, and more to do with its own distance from the city, and lack of routes in comparison to YYC.

TL925 · 12-29-2002, 12:39 AM

I would definitely have to go with Narita on this topic. The airport is very far from central Tokyo, and access to it can be tough too. There are no very cheap ways to get there unless you drive yourself. I studied in Japan this summer, and one of my friends decided to take a cab from Narita to the university. It set him back 30,000 Yen, or roughly $300!! He knew it'd be expensive, but that price is riduculous!

ARIUS · 12-29-2002, 03:08 AM

Hey Sarge, I've always referred to YEG as Leduc International, heh heh.

ARIUS · 12-29-2002, 03:10 AM

I've always thought that 30 stops on the Picadilly line to central London from LHR to be a pain.

12-29-2002, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ARIUS
I've always thought that 30 stops on the Picadilly line to central London from LHR to be a pain.

Granted, it is a bit of a pain if you have a lot of luggage to take. A cab ride will cost you £40.00 approx from the city to Heathrow, about £65.00 (or slightly more) to Gatwick and about £80.00 I would imagine up to Luton. The fact is though, all of these airports are served by fantastic rail systems from the centre of the city.

Heathrow gives the Heathrow Express, Gatwick has the Gatwick Express and Luton has the Thameslink (I believe to Luton Parkway). These cost about £13.00 each (averaged out).

Furthermore, London City Airport is in a fantastic location and offers a great range of flights. Good approach and departure path at LCY.

omar · 12-29-2002, 12:14 PM

clk is not really that far out from down town hong kong....

..... but nothing beats kai tak!

-omar

12-28-2002, 09:45 PM	#1
Colin Senior Collector Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 409	Dumbest Airport Locations Might as well keep this theme going. Halifax International, NS, Canada. Airport is about 30 km outside of the city (which is only about 330,000 people and therefore is not short on space). I once met an engineer with Transport Canada who told me that the location was chosen because of all the possible sites in the area, the one chosen had the fewest hours of fog (Halifax is on the Atlantic ocean and is the second largest natural harbour in the world). Here's the funny part. The site was covered with a pine forest. So in went the bulldozers and chainsaws and the area was cleared. The runways and terminal went in, and then came the fog. After the first year of operation Transport Canada noted that the number of foggy hours went way up. The government ordered a study and it turned out that the forest was keeping the fog away by altering wind patterns. When the trees went the fog had no impediment and settled in. Therefore Halifax has an airport in the middle of nowhere for no good reason. Meanwhile, CFB Shearwater was scaled way back and it's long runways, 10 km from downtown Halifax, go unused. The only aircraft assigned there are Sea King helicopters. I'll let someone else tell the story of Montreal Mirabel, Pierre Trudeau's "White Elephant."

12-28-2002, 10:13 PM	#3
b737gearboy Senior Collector Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: KMHT Age: 40 Posts: 248	MCI in Kansas City used to be pretty bad. It was out in the boonies but things have grown up around the airport in the last few years. __________________ GO BUCKEYES!!!! NATIONAL CHAMPS!! O----H----I----O

12-28-2002, 10:32 PM	#4
Bill G Insane Collector Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: St. Charles, MO Posts: 1,248	DCA & SAN I'm not really sure if the locations are bad, but the approach into both SAN & DCA are pretty interesting. Bill G __________________ *Ozark Flies Your Way* FEES DON'T FLY AT SOUTHWEST

12-29-2002, 12:00 AM	#7
richie154 Retired Hookah Master Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Valley of Heart's Delight Age: 24 Posts: 3,719	SFO is kinda in a bad location...some rwy's extend into the bay and theyre way too close together for paralell landings. also, any bad weather dramitically affects the on-time performance of the place. __________________ The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villian with a smiling cheek, a goodly apple rotten at the heart. Oh, what a goodly outside falsehood hath! Private Pilot: 10/20/2005 Private Multi Engine: 05/09/2008 The more things change, the more Mesa still sucks.

12-29-2002, 12:04 AM	#8
Sgt Caribou Insane Collector Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA, eh Age: 45 Posts: 1,663	It's not an Edmonton vs. Calgary thread, honest YEG, located about 30 min. drive south of city limits. This is Edmonton's international airport, although a disproportionately large part of international and cross-Canada traffic goes through YYC instead. Reasons for this have to do with the fact that Calgary handles much more air traffic due to its location, local economy and route structure. What makes it really dumb is the fact that there is another airport right here downtown, namely YXD, which is large enough to handle A320/737 class aircraft (and did several years ago), but city council shut down flights of this type and imposed restrictions which have turned it into a commuter/private airport (10 pax or less). With the commute to YEG added to the time required to check-in, clear security, etc., taking a flight from YEG to YYC is not feasible due to the fact that the journey takes 3 hours from start to finish, which incidentally is the same time required to drive between the two cities! In the event that regularly scheduled flights via say Westjet, Tango & Zip were run out of YXD to YYC, the longer-ranged routes could be accessed that much more quickly. Furthermore there has been talk (again) recently about closing YXD, because it supposedly takes business away from YEG. Rather than viewing the city centre airport as a direct threat to the international, it seems the that the consistently-low traffic patterns at YEG have less to do with the small fry "taking away" from the big international, and more to do with its own distance from the city, and lack of routes in comparison to YYC. __________________ THANK YOU FOR THE AIR CANADA A340's! How about an AIR TRANSAT L1011, A330 OR A310 in n/c? Needed: DHC-8, ATR & regional jets in 1/400th please! Keep the memory of Canadi>n alive in 1/400 Brian

12-28-2002, 10:12 PM	#2
ksekha Senior Collector Join Date: May 2002 Location: near London, UK Posts: 339	All the locations listed below are bad due to their distance from the city centre. These are: 1. London Luton. 2. London Stanstead. 3. London Gatwick. 4. Bangkok (Don Muang). 5. Houston George Bush Intercontinental. 6. Taipei (CKS airport). Another problematic location for an airport is Toronto City Airport. The airport is very close to the city centre, but getting there requires a passenger ferry, for which one has to pay toll each time! Luton is some 50 miles away from London. In fact, Luton isn't even in London or close to it, yet the airport is called London Luton! Stanstead and Gatwick are both about 30 miles away. Dubai is the best location. Just 3 miles from the city centre, as was Hong Kong's Kai Tak.

12-28-2002, 10:48 PM	#5
Eddy Two Guest Posts: n/a	Narita NRT is about 70km or more from Downtown Tokyo. It's a bad one. There are some good on-site hotels though if you need to overnight!!!!

12-28-2002, 11:05 PM	#6
FLYDELTA Collector Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Powell, Oh Posts: 141	How about the new Denver airport?

12-29-2002, 12:39 AM	#9
TL925 Master Collector Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: London Age: 26 Posts: 529	I would definitely have to go with Narita on this topic. The airport is very far from central Tokyo, and access to it can be tough too. There are no very cheap ways to get there unless you drive yourself. I studied in Japan this summer, and one of my friends decided to take a cab from Narita to the university. It set him back 30,000 Yen, or roughly $300!! He knew it'd be expensive, but that price is riduculous!

12-29-2002, 03:08 AM	#10
ARIUS Master Collector Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Whitehorse, YT Posts: 606	Hey Sarge, I've always referred to YEG as Leduc International, heh heh.

12-29-2002, 03:10 AM	#11
ARIUS Master Collector Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Whitehorse, YT Posts: 606	I've always thought that 30 stops on the Picadilly line to central London from LHR to be a pain.

12-29-2002, 12:14 PM	#13
omar Junior Collector Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Manila Age: 27 Posts: 37	clk is not really that far out from down town hong kong.... ..... but nothing beats kai tak! -omar

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